New 'Superman' tale not all that bad, really

I'm on record of saying that I really, really, really hated the introductory story for the Man of Steel's current story arc, as presented in "Superman" No. 700.

(Did you miss it? The premiere chapter has been reprinted in TV Guide's Comic Con special edition, on sale at supermarkets everywhere.)

Now that the story proper has begun in "Superman" No. 701, I'm starting to mellow.

"Superman," No. 701, DC Comics; $2.99.

To recap: Our man from Krypton has just come back to Earth, having spent the past year or so risking life and limb to prevent said planet (and its inhabitants) from becoming charred cinders due to alien invaders. There's a welcome back ceremony for Kal-El, whereupon a woman causes a commotion by leaping from the audience and slapping him across the face.

It seems that, as Superman was off-planet saving everyone from an army of rogue Kryptonians, the woman's husband died from a brain tumor that Superman could've detected and removed through the miracle of his X-ray vision.

She's distraught that Supes was unavailable to help her out. What? Not to trivialize the woman's loss, but c'mon! Superman has never claimed to be a medical practitioner, the procedure was conjecture at best, and, oh yeah, he was busy saving the entire planet.

Logical reasoning aside, Superman is taken aback, and decides to take a walk across the country to reconnect to its citizens. (This gives the overall title, "Grounded," a double meaning.)

At this point, I was afraid writer J. Michael Straczynski was going to rehash the "relevant" stories from the 1970s and 1980s, tales fraught with social comment, delivered with the subtlety of a ball-peen hammer.

Luckily, Straczynski isn't taking that route. Sure, Superman is on a voyage of discovery for himself, but his journey also serves to show others what to expect from a superhero, and maybe integrate that into their daily lives.

What we get in "Superman" No. 701 is a story of Clark Kent's alter ego walking through Philadelphia, wiping out a drug dealer and talking to a woman considering suicide.

Certainly, it's a smaller story than what comics fans are used to, but it is thoughtful, poignant and at times laugh-out-loud funny. (There's a running gag about red kryptonite that carries over from 700 that always cracks me up.) And the artwork by Eddy Barrows and J.P. Mayer is first rate.

There are minor quibbles: The drug dealer is so clueless, he thinks that he can taunt Supes with impunity (it's funny, but highly unlikely), and then there's the whole superhero time-management thing going on.

Let's face it: If Superman is taking a lunch break, well that's one guy not being saved from a burning building, a crime not being prevented, or a kitten stuck up a tree.

Still, it's hard not to love a book where the hero quashes a heckler by quoting Henry David Thoreau.

Jeff Kapalka, of Utica, reviews video games and comics for Stars. Write to him at features@syracuse.com or c/o Stars, P.O. Box 4915, Syracuse, NY 13221.